Heel grooving machine



W. W. BRADBURY HEEL GROOVING MACHINE Nov. 25, 1941.

' Filed July 13, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 25, 1941. w. w. BRADBURY 2,263,672

HEEL GROOVING MACHINE Filed July 13, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 25, 1941 HEEL GROOVING MACHINE Walter W. Bradbury, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J.', a corporation of New Jersey Application July 13, 1940, Serial No. 345,334

13 Claims. (01. 124'7.1)

This invention relates to the manufacture of wood heels and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine for grooving the breast of a Cuban type of wood heel.

A Cuban heel is characterized in one respect by breast edges which appear to be straight when the heel is viewed directly from the side. This effect was produced originally as a result of forming the breast surface by a plane saw cut. Later. style requirements led to the use of heels having horizontally concave breasts, such heels sometimes being p-rovided with shank lips. The invention is concerned with the manufacture of heels of the latter type and one machine for producing such heels is disclosed in. U. S. Letters Patent 1,963,203, granted June 19, 1934, on an application of C. D. Knowlton.

A heel blank is presented to the cutter of such a machine so as to cause the cutting action of the cutter to be directed horizontally or crosswise of the heel breast, the cutter being so shaped as to form the under surface of the shank lip at the end of the feed movement of the heel blank which follows a path heightwise of the blank and is stopped short of the attaching face of the heel at such a point as to leave a'shank lip of the required thickness. Straightness of the breast edges, when'the heel is viewed from the side, is effected by presenting the heel blank to the cutter in a path which has the requisite curvature heightwise of the heel blank as is well understood in this art.

It is an object of this invention to make provision in a machine of the general type referred to above for the forming of a grooved heel breast of any desired horizontal curvature without requiring any change inthe form of the cutter. To this end I have provided a machine having a cutter and a jack for holding a heel blank, the jack being mounted to swing about an axis so as to present the blank to the cutter in a direction extending heightwise of the blank, the axis about which the jack swings being adjustable transversely or the axis of the cutter in order to permit the angular relation between the plane of rotation of the cutter and the direction of the feed movement of the blank to be varied in accordance with the required horizontal curvature of the breast of the heel. In accordance with another feature of the invention, the illustrated machine is provided with a guiding member in connection with the organization referred to above which is arranged to utilize the swinging movement of the jack to move the heel blankin a direction transverse to that of its feeding movement whereby the heel blank is moved in a. path of such curvature as will result in the breast edges of the heel having the apparent straightness referred to above. Invention is also to be recognized in the provision in the illustrated machine for the common adjustment of the above-mentioned guiding member and axis of the jack whereby the shape of the path of the heel blank is unaffected by any changein its angular relation to the axis or plane of rotation of the cutter;

Thus, the straightness of the breast edges of the iii) heel is unimpaired by adjustment of the jack for the purpose of varying the curvature of the heel breast.

In the manufacture of heels having no shank lips the heel blank may be carried far enough beyond the cutter to permit the blank to be removed from the machine before the retrograde movement of the jack begins whereby any scoring of the finished heel surface by the cutter is avoided. However, in a machine adapted for grooving the breast of a heel having a shank lip of the present type, the cutter and the heel blank ordinarily are in contact with each other at the end of the feeding movement and accordingly the removal of the heel blank from a machine of this type cannot be accomplished until the heel blank has been moved through a substantial portion of its retrograde movement away from the cutter. In view of the foregoing, it is another object of the invention to prevent the engagement of the cutter and heel blank during the retrograde movement of the heel blank. To this end, the invention provides means associated with the jack constructed and arranged to utilize the beginning of its retrograde movement to move the heel blank away from the cutter in a direction transverse to the retrograde movement of the jack, whereby the blank and cutter are separated immediately after a out has been made, and scoring of the heel surface by the cutter is accordingly avoided.

These and other feature of the invention comprising certain combinations and arrangements of parts will be apparent from the following description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of an illustrative machine embodying the invention, a part of the base of the machine being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1, parts of the base and the driving mechanism for the jack and heel blank holder being shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation of the jack and heel blank holder, parts of which are shown in section;

Fig. 4 is a view in sectional elevation of a heel which has been operated upon in the illustrated machine, the section being taken on a vertical plane extending through the center of the heel lengthwise thereof;

Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view of the heel of Fig. 4, the section being taken along the line V-V in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view of a part of the jack.

The illustrated machine comprises a base l0, Fig. 1, on which is mounted a motor 12 the shaft of which is horizontal and carries a cutter 14 having blades l6 adjustably clamped therein by set screws 18. The blades l6 have cutting edges formed on their ends at such an angle as to produce a frusto-conical generatrix when the cutter I4 is rotated. A heel blank to be operated upon is presented to the cutter I4 in such a way that the lower surface of the shank lip is formed by the cutting edges of the blades IS, the breast surface of the heel being formed by the ends of the cutting edges of the blades. The control of the angle in a vertical plane between the attaching surface of the heel and the lower surface of the shank lip, which will be referred to hereinafter as the lip angle, is effected partly by changing the angular relation of the cutting blades to the axis of the cutter and by varying the angle at which the cutting edges are formed on the blades as will be further explained later. A heel blank to be operated upon is clamped in a holder comprising a support 20, Figs. 1 and 2, and a movable jaw 22, the holder being a part of a jack mounted to swing about the axis of a shaft 24. The holder is mounted to slide radially of the shaft 24 toward and away from the cutter [4 under the control of a cam 26, the purpose of which is to cause the heel to move in a path of such curvature heightwise of the heel that the breast edges of the heel will appear to be straight when the heel is viewed from the side. The support is adapted to be engaged by the attaching surface of the heel blank and has adjustably mounted thereon gages 28 and 30 adapted to engage the rim of the heel blank at the rear and one side thereof respectively, the breast of the heel blank being vertical. In order to accommodate heel blanks of any height, the support 20 is mounted for adjustment on a slideway 32 along which the support is moved by a screw 34, the latter being threaded in the support and rotatably mounted in a bracket 36 fixed to the slideway. A screw 38 threaded in the bracket 36 is adapted to bear against the support 20 so as to brace the latter against the clamping pressure exerted by the heel blank. The jaw 22 is threaded into the end of an arm 40 having an elongated slot 4| adapted to receive a clamp bolt 42 which is rotatably mounted in a member 44 in which the slideway 32 is formed. Owing to the provision of the slot 4!, the arm 40 can be adjusted on the bolt 42 lengthwise of the heel blank so as to insure that the jaw 22 will properly engage the bottom of the blank. The bolt 42 and arm 40 are rocked to cause the jaw 22 to clamp the heel blank by connections comprising an arm 46, one end of which is attached to the bolt 42 and the other end of which carries a roll 43 adapted to be engaged by a cam 58. The cam 50, which is fixed to a shaft 52, rotatably mounted in the member 44, is operated, as will be described later, to cause the heel blank to be automatically clamped and unclamped. A spring 54 extending between the member 44 and the end of the arm 46 remote from the roll 48 is adapted to hold the latter against the cam 50 so as to cause the jaw 22 to be moved away from the heel into its inoperative position when such motion of the arm is permitted by the cam. The jaw 22 when in its inoperative position is so adjusted with respect to the arm 40 that the distance between the support 20 and the jaw is slightly greater than the height of the heel blank. However, in order to facilitate placing a heel blank in the machine, the jaw 22 is bored to receive a plunger 56 having a rescent shaped head 58 which, when engaged by the heel blank, is arranged to yield against the pressure of a spring 60 into a recess formed in the jaw 22. The heel blank is thus yieldingly held in the holder until it is positively clamped between the support 20 and the jaw 22.

The heel blank holder is moved in such a direction as to impart a feed movement to the blank extending heightwise of the blank and also so that the cutting action of the cutter is directed horizontally or crosswise of the heel breast. The mechanism for controlling the direction of this feed movement will now be described in detail.

The member 44 is clamped by a bolt 62, Fig. 2, to a head 64 to which is attached a pair of tubes 66 arranged to slide in an arm 68 pivotally mounted on the shaft 24. The tubes 66 and hence the work holder are urged toward the shaft 24 by springs 10 which extend between nuts 12 on rods 14 and shoulders on the inner end of the tubes. The rods 14 are anchored to the arm 68 by a stud 16. A link 18, Figs. 3 and 6, is pivoted at one end on a screw to the lower side of the head 64 and is adapted to swing through a small angle for a purpose which will be described later, this movement being limited by pins 82, 84 fixed on the head 64. A block 86 is pivotally mounted on the other end of the link 18 and is adapted to slide on the cam 26. It is now apparent that as the arm 68 is swung about the shaft 24 the heel blank holder under the control of the cam 26 will slide in and out of the arm 68 in accordance with the shape of the cam 26, the latter being so shaped as to cause the heel breast to be cut with that heightwise curvature as will result in the breast edges of the heel appearing to be straight as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5. The cam 26 is provided with dowels 81 adapted to be received in holes in the end of an arm 88 having a hub through which the shaft 24 extends. The cam 26 can thus be easily replaced by another of such shape as may be required by the heel blank to be operated upon to produce straight breast edges.

Since the direction of feed movement of the heel blank forms an acute angle with the plane of rotation of the cutter, the effective shape of the generatrix of the ends of the blades I6 is an ellipse, as indicated in Fig. 5. Therefore, in order to adapt the machine for shaping heel breasts of varying horizontal curvatures by the use of one form of cutter, the shaft 24 is mounted for adjustment in such a way as to permit the angular relation between the direction of the feed movement of the heel blank and the plane of rotation of the cutter to be varied in accordance with the desired curvature of the heel breast. To this end, the shaft 24 and arm 8.8 can be fixed to the base ID of the machine bymeans. of a nurse threaded in the lower end ofi'theshaftin any desired position along an arcuate slot '90 the center of which lies on that tangent to the eneratrix of the cutter which is parallel and nearest to the axis of the shaft cam. with. respect to slot 90 remaining unchanged in spite of its adjustment on account of the provision of a pair of studs 9| on the hub oi the arm 88 which are received in the slot 911. Thus, regardless ,of any change in the angular relation between the ,feed movement of the heel blankand the plane of rotation of the cutter the shapeof the path of the heel blank is the ame a It is now to be understood that the heel blank holder, upon having a heel blank inserted therein, is moved to the right from a position to the left of that in which it'is illustrated in Fig. 1 until a'shank lip of the required thickness has been formed... Shortly after the beginning of this feed movement the jaw 22 is moved positively to clamp the heel blank against the support 263 by the action of the cam 50 which is operated by an arm 92 fixed to the lower end of the shaft 52. The arm 92 is slotted slidably to receive a stud 34, the stud being ad-justably mounted in a slot 96 in the base Ill; During the feed movement, because of the friction between the block 86 and the cam. 26, the link I8 is held against the pin 82 but as soon as the retrograde movement ofthe heel holder begins the link l8 is swunginto engagement with the pin 84. The link i8 and block 86 thus constitute a toggle which is collapsed at the beginning of the retrograde movement of the heel blank holder and, therefore, allows the springs Ill. to move the heel blank holder away from the cutter Itwhereby the heel blank is separated from the cutter and scoring of the finished heel breast during the retrograde movement is avoided- At the beginning of the feeding movement the link 18 is again moved into engagement with the pin 82 before the heel blank is brought into engagement with the cut ter.

- Towardthe end of the retrograde movement of the heel blank holder, the cam i! is moved into such a position as to release the jaw 22 from the heel blank; the latter part of the movement of the jaw being utilized to eject the heel blank from the machine as will now be described. A lever gil Fig. 2, is pivotally mounted at lllil on the member 44 to swing upwardly through a slot in the member into engagement with the lower side of the heel blank and to remove it from between the support 20, and the head 58 of the plunger 56 whereupon the heel blank falls by gravity through an opening. I02 in the base Ill into areceptacle (not shown) for the finished heels. The arm 98 is thus operated by a catch I54 which is mounted to yield vertically in the arm 40 and is adapted to engage a lug I06 eX- tending upwardly from the arm 98. Owing to the movement of the arm 98 which causes the heel blank to be ejected from the machine, the lug IE6 is lowered sufficiently to permit the catch I04 to mov past it whereupon the arm 93 then drops iii to its lowermost position as indicated in Fig. 2. Thereafter, during the clamping movement of the arm All, inclined surfaces on the catch'IM and lug H16 engage each other and cause thecatch I94 to be elevated into the arm 4!] against the resistance of a spring I98 until the ends of the catch and lug pass each other again. At this time the spring m8 returns the catch I04 to its operative position which is'adjustable by means of nuts Ilt threaded on the upper end of the catch and adapted toengage the upper surface of the arm 40. It is apparent that by vary ing the heightwise position of the catch I04 the extent and timing of the movement of the arm as may be varied.

If, as a result of adjusting the position of the shaft 24 in order to produce the desired horizon! tal or transverse curvature of the heel breast, the relation between the support and the cutting edges of the cutter M is such as to pro.-

' duce an incorrect lip angle, the bolt 22 may be iii ments to the heel blank holder.

loosened to permit the adjustment of the memberv M on the head 64 to correct the lip angle. The angular relation of the support 20 with re spect to the arm 68 is indicated by a protractor scale II2 formed integral with the member 44 and an index EM which extends upwardly from the head E4.

Although the heel blank holder may be mane ually operated in the manner described above with the aid of a handle I it, Figs. 1 and 2, Which is fixed to the member M, the illustrated machine is provided with power-ODerated means for imparting the feeding and retrograde movecomprises a cam H3 which is arranged to operate an extensible link I29 having adjustably mounted thereon an extension I22 which is pivoted to the head 54 by a pin I24. The link I20 has a slot I26 through which extends a shaft I28 which is rotatably mounted in a bracket I33 fixed to the base Ill. The shaft E28 carries the cam H3 at its upper end and is provided with a pulley I32 which may be connected to a suitable source of power by a belt 534. A cam roll I36 is rotatably mounted on a stud I38 fixed in the outer end of the link 52!] and is received in a cam. track Iii! which so shaped as o cause one revolution of the cam to carry the heel blank holder through one complete cycle, as indicated diagrammatically in Fig. l. The extension I22 is held in a groove formed in the link I20 by a plate M2, the adjustment of the extension I22 relatively to the link I20 being effected by a screw Hi l which is rotatably mounted in the extension !22 and is threaded into the link 29. The extension I22 is adapted to be clamped in adjusted position on the link I20 by a screw I46 Which passes through a slot the extension I22 and is threaded into the link, It will now be understood that when the link 1213 has been moved to-the limit of its movement toward the right, Figs. 1 and 2 (when the heel blank holder is at the end of its feed movement), the screw I44 can be operated to adjust the extension I22 so as to cause a shank lip of the required thickness to be made. a

The operation and adjustment ofthe machine will now be summarized briefly. A heel blank- This means blank is positioned relatively to the cutter so as to cause the heel breast to be cut at the required distance from the rear of the heel. The arm 40 is adjusted on the shaft 42 in order to bring the jaw 22 directly opposite to the bottom or tread end of the heel blank. The support 26 and jaw 22 are also adjusted with respect to the slideway 32 and the arm 40, respectively, in accordance with the height of the heel blank to be operated upon. The position of the shaft 24 is also adjusted along the slot 90 so as to produce the required extent of horizontal curvature of the heel breast.

A heel blank having been inserted in the machine, the heel blank holder is moved toward the right, Fig. 1, by the cam I I8. At the beginning of this movement the link 18 is moved into engagement with the pin 82, thereby causing the heel holder to be moved radially of the shaft 24 to- Ward the cutter. Before the heel blank is engaged by the cutter, the arm 40 is swung to bring the jaw 22 into engagement with the heel blank, the stud 94 having been adjusted in the slot 96 so as to cause the cam 50 to operate the lever 46 and hence, the arm 40 at the time mentioned above.

During the feed movement of the heel blank, it is moved in a curved path which is determined by the cam 26, the shape of which is such as to cause the breast edges of the heel to appear to be straight when the heel is viewed from the side. The bottom surface of the lip is formed by the edges of the cutter [6 at the end of the feed movement of the blank. The lip angle is controlled by angularly adjusting the member 44 with respect to the head 64 and also by the angular adjustment of the blades l6 with respect to the axis of the cutter [4. Further control of the lip angle is efiected by the use of cutting blades, the edges of which are formed at different angles with respect to their longer sides. It will also be understood that the thickness of the lip is controlled by the adjustment of the extension I22 relative to the link I26, as well as the position of the support 20 on the slideway 32.

At the beginning of the retrograde movement of the holder, the link 18 is swung away from the pin 82 into engagement with the pin 84 whereby the heel holder is permitted to move away from the cutter under the influence of the springs 10. Thus, the heel blank is not engaged by the cutter during its retrograde movement. As the heel blank approaches the end of its retrograde movement, the jaw 22 is moved away from the heel blank although the latter is still yieldingly held against the support 20 by the plunger 56. Shortly after the jaw 22 has been moved away from the heel blank, the lever 98 rises into engagement with the heel blank and forces it from between the support 20 and plunger 56 whereupon the heel blank falls by gravity into a receptacle underneath the machine, through the opening [02 in the base I0.

Once the machine has been properly adjusted the cam H8 may be continuously rotated so as to carry out the above cycle of operations at the highest possible speed as determined by the cutting action of the cutter and the operators ability to load the machine.

Having thus described my invention What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a heel grooving machine, a rotary cutter, a jack for holding a heel blank, said jack being movable in opposite directions past said cutter to impart feed and retrograde movements to the heel blank, a guide having a surface shaped in accordance with the desired heightwise curvature of the heel breast, and means for holding said jack against said guide, said jack and guide being bodily adjustable so as to vary the angular relation between the direction of the feed movement of the blank and the axis of said cutter.

2. In a heel grooving machine, a rotary cutter, a jack comprising a heel blank holder mounted for movement past said cutter in one direction to impart a feed movement to the heel blank extending heightwise thereof, said holder being mounted for movement relatively to said jack in a direction transverse to that of its feed movement to vary the depth of cut of said cutter, and means constructed and arranged to utilize the said feed movement of said holder to move it in the last mentioned direction.

3. In a heel grooving machine, a rotary cutter, a jack for holding a heel blank, said jack being mounted and arranged to present the heel blank to the cutter so that its cutting action is directed crosswise of the heel breast, and means for swinging said jack about an axis perpendicular to the axis of said cutter to impart a feed movement to the blank extending heightwise thereof, the axis of said jack being adjustable in a direction normal to a line between said axis and cutter so as to vary the angular relation between the direction of feed movement of the blank and the plane of rotation of the cutter in accordance with the desired horizontal curvature of the heel breast.

4. In a heel grooving machine, a rotary cutter, a jack for holding a heel blank, said jack being mounted to swing about an axis perpendicular to the axis of said cutter to impart a feed movement to the blank extending heightwise thereof, the position of the axis of said jack being adjustable in an arc the center of which is on that tangent to the generatrix of said cutter which is nearest to the axis of said jack whereby the angular relation between the direction of feed movement of the blank and the generatrix of said cutter may be varied to produce the desired horizontal curvature of the heel breast.

5. In a heel grooving machine, a rotary cutter, a jack comprising a heel blank holder, said jack being mounted to swing about an axis perpendicular to the axis of said cutter, to present a heel blank in said holder to said cutter in a direction extending heightwise of the blank, means for guiding said holder in a predetermined path during its feeding movement, a common support for said jack and said guiding means, said support being adjustable transversely of the axis of said cutter whereby the efiective curvature of said cutter is varied in accordance with the desired horizontal curvature of the heel breast.

6. In a heel grooving machine, a rotary cutter, a jack comprising a heel blank holder, a support on which said jack is mounted to swing about an axis perpendicular to the axis of said cutter to impart to a heel blank in said holder a feeding movement extending transversely of the axis of said cutter, a guide associated with said support and arranged to control the position of said holder axially of said cutter during the feed movement of the heel blank, said support and guide being adjustable together with respect to said cutter about a second axis parallel to that about which said jack swings, said holder also being mounted for angular adjustment with respect to said jack.

'7. In a heel blank grooving machine, a rotary cutter, a jack comprising a heel blank holder, said jack being mounted to swing about an axis perpendicular to that of said cutter to present the blank to the cutter in a direction extending heightwise of the blank, and guiding means mounted and arranged to move said holder with respect to said jack radially of said axis while said jack is being swung in order to present the blank to said cutter in a path corresponding to the desired heightwise curvature of the heel breast.

8. In a heel blank grooving machine, a rotary cutter, a jack comprising a heel blank holder, said jack being mounted to swing about an axis perpendicular to the axis of said cutter to present a heel blank in said holder to said cutter in a direction extending heightwise of the blank, and guiding means arranged to utilize the swinging movement of said jack to move said holder relatively to said jack toward and away from the axis of the latter so as to cause the blank to be moved in a path corresponding to the desired heightwise curvature of the heel breast.

9. In a heel blank grooving machine, a rotary cutter, a jack comprising a heel blank holder, said jack being mounted to swing about an axis perpendicular to the axis of said cutter to present a heel blank to said cutter in a direction ex tending heightwise of the blank, said holder being mounted to slide toward and away from the axis of said jack, and a cam against which said holder is yieldingly held, said cam being shaped so as to cause the blank to be moved in a path corresponding to the desired heightwise curvature of the heel breast.

10. In a heel blank grooving machine, a rotary cutter, a jack comprising a heel blank holder, said jack being movable in opposite directions past said cutter to impart feed and retrograde movements to a heel blank in said holder, and means constructed and arranged to act upon said holder at the beginning of said feeding and retrograde movements to move it with respect to said jack transversely of said movements toward and away from said cutter respectively whereby said feeding and retrograde movements occur in spaced parallel paths.

11. In a heel blank groovin machine, a rotary cutter, a jack comprising a heel blank holder, means for moving said jack in opposite directions to impart feed and retrograde movements to a heel blank in said holder, means for guiding said holder during the feed movement in a predetermined path corresponding to the desired heightwise curvature of the heel breast, said guiding means being constructed and arranged to utilize the retrograde movement of said jack to move the heel blank holder away from said cutter transversely of the said retrograde movement of said jack thereby to cause said retrograde movement to occur in a path spaced from and parallel to said feed movement.

12. In a heel blank grooving machine, a rotary cutter, a jack comprising a heel blank holder, said jack being movable in opposite directions to impart feed and retrograde movements to a heel blank in said holder, and means for moving said holder transversely of its said movements to separate the heel blank from the cutter during the retrograde movement of the blank, said means comprising connections associated with said holder and adapted to be collapsed in response to the retrograde movement of said holder.

13. In a heel blank grooving machine, a rotary cutter, a jack comprising a heel blank holder, said jack being movable in opposite directions to impart fed and retrograde movements to a heel blank in said holder, means for guiding said holder during its feed movement in a path corresponding to the heightwise contour of the heel breast, said means comprising a cam and a link, said link being mounted and arranged to swing on said holder in response to its retrograde movement whereby said holder is permitted to retract the heel blank from the cutter during 

